Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 | |
---|---|
![]() | |
Parliament of India | |
| |
Citation | Act No. 47 of 2019 |
Passed by | Lok Sabha |
Passed | 10 December 2019 |
Passed by | Rajya Sabha |
Passed | 11 December 2019 |
Assented to | 12 December 2019 |
Signed by | Ram Nath Kovind President of India |
Signed | 12 December 2019 |
Effective | Not yet; to be notified by the government on a date chosen by it.[1] |
Legislative history | |
First chamber: Lok Sabha | |
Bill title | Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 |
Bill citation | Bill No. 370 of 2019 |
Introduced by | Amit Shah Minister of Home Affairs |
Introduced | 9 December 2019 |
First reading | 9 December 2019 |
Second reading | 10 December 2019 |
Third reading | 11 December 2019 |
Amends | |
Citizenship Act, 1955 | |
Status: In force |
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019 was passed by the Parliament of India on 11 December 2019. It amended the Citizenship Act of 1955 by providing a path to Indian citizenship for Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi, and Christian religious minorities fleeing persecution from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan.[2] Muslims were not given such eligibility.[3][4] The act was the first time religion had been overtly used as a criterion for citizenship under Indian law.[5] But scholars point out that the Indian citizenship law has always been informed by the idea of "India is for Hindus".[6]
The Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), which leads the Indian government, had promised in previous election manifestos to offer Indian citizenship to persecuted religious minorities from neighboring countries.[7][8] Under the 2019 amendment, migrants who had entered India by 31 December 2014, and had suffered "religious persecution or fear of religious persecution" in their country of origin were made eligible for citizenship.[2] The amendment also relaxed the residence requirement for naturalization of these migrants from eleven years to five.[9] Immediate beneficiaries of the Bill, according to the Intelligence Bureau of India, will be 31,313 refugees: 25,447 Hindus, 5,807 Sikhs, 55 Christians, 2 Buddhists and 2 Parsis.[10]
The amendment has been widely criticised as discriminating on the basis of religion, in particular for excluding Muslims.[3][4] The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights called it "fundamentally discriminatory", adding that while India's "goal of protecting persecuted groups is welcome", this should be accomplished through a non-discriminatory "robust national asylum system".[11] Critics express concerns that the bill would be used, along with the National Register of Citizens, to render Muslim citizens stateless. Commentators also question the exclusion of persecuted religious minorities from other regions such as Tibet, Sri Lanka and Myanmar.[12][13] The Indian government says that Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh are Muslim-majority countries where Islam has been declared as the official state religion through constitutional amendments in recent decades, and therefore Muslims in these Islamic countries are "unlikely to face religious persecution" and cannot be "treated as persecuted minorities".[8][14] Scholars describe Muslim minorities in these countries, such as Hazaras and Ahmadis, as also facing persecution.[15][16][17]
The passage of the legislation caused large-scale protests in India.[18] Assam and other northeastern states have seen violent demonstrations against the bill over fears that granting Indian citizenship to refugees and immigrants will cause a loss of their "political rights, culture and land rights" and motivate further migration from Bangladesh.[19][20][21] In other parts of India, protesters said the bill discriminated against Muslims and demanded that Indian citizenship be granted to Muslim refugees and immigrants.[22] Major protests against the Act were held at universities in India. Students at Aligarh Muslim University and Jamia Millia Islamia alleged brutal suppression by the police.[23] The protests have led to the death of several protesters, injuries to protesters and police personnel, damage to public and private property, the detention of thousands of people, and suspensions of local internet and communication infrastructure in certain areas.[24][25] Some of the states have announced they will not implement the Act. The Union Home Ministry said that states lack the legal power to stop the implementation of the CAA.[26]
Background
The Indian Constitution was implemented in 1950 guaranteed citizenship to all of the country's residents at the commencement of the constitution, and made no distinction on the basis of religion.[27][28][29][30] But scholars point out that this apparent religious neutrality was illusory. Indian legislation on citizenship has always been informed by the idea of "India is for Hindus".[6]
The Indian government passed the Citizenship Act in 1955. The Act provided two means for foreigners to acquire Indian citizenship. People from "undivided India"[a] were given a means of registration after seven years of residency in India. Those from other countries were given a means of naturalisation after eleven years of residency in India.[32][33]
A 2003 amendment to this act, legislated by the National Democratic Alliance government, prohibited illegal migrants from obtaining Indian citizenship. The act defined illegal immigrants as citizens of other countries who entered India without valid travel documents, or who remained in the country beyond the period permitted by their travel documents.[34][35] The law provided provisions to deport or jail the illegal immigrants.[36]
India is not a signatory to either the 1951 UN Refugee Convention or the 1967 Protocol.[37][38] It does not have a national policy on refugees. All refugees are classed as "illegal migrants". While India has been willing to host refugees, its traditional position formulated by Jawaharlal Nehru is that such refugees must return to their home countries after the situation returns to normal.[39][40] According to the US Committee for Refugees and Immigrants, India hosts refugees in excess of 456,000,[41] with about 200,000 from "non-neighbouring" countries hosted via the UNHCR.[39][42][b] According to Shuvro Sarker, since the 1950s and particularly since the 1990s, the Indian governments under various political parties have studied and drafted laws for the naturalization of refugees and asylum seekers. These drafts have struggled with issues relating to a mass influx of refugees, urban planning, cost of basic services, the obligations to protected tribes, the impact on pre-existing regional poverty levels within India.[44]
A very large number of illegal immigrants, the largest numbers of whom are from Bangladesh, live in India. The Task Force on Border Management quoted the figure of 15 million illegal migrants in 2001. In 2004, the United Progressive Alliance (UPA) government stated in Parliament that there were 12 million illegal Bangladeshi migrants in India.[45] The reasons for the scale of migration include a porous border, historical migration patterns, economic reasons, and cultural and linguistic ties.[46]
The "detection, deletion and deportation" of illegal migrants has been on the agenda of the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP) since 1996.[47] In the 2016 assembly elections for the border state of Assam, the BJP leaders campaigned in the state promising voters that they would rid Assam of the Bangladeshis. Simultaneously, they also promised to protect Hindus who had fled religious persecution in Bangladesh.[48] The BJP had earlier promised in its 2014 election manifesto to provide a "natural home" for persecuted Hindu refugees.[49] The difficulties faced by Hindu refugees from Pakistan have since been reported in the news media.[50][51] However, in the context of an effort to identify and deport illegal immigrants, the proposal took a new meaning. Illegal migrants could be granted citizenship if they were non-Muslim, on the grounds that they were refugees; Muslims alone would be deported.[28]
The year before the 2016 elections, the government legalised refugees belonging to religious minorities from Pakistan and Bangladesh, granting them long-term visas. Bangladeshi and Pakistani nationals belonging to "minority communities" were exempted from the requirements of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 and the Foreigners Act, 1946.[52] Specifically mentioned were "Hindus, Sikhs, Christians, Jains, Parsis and Buddhists," who had been "compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear of religious persecution". Eligibility for the exemption was made contingent on a migrant having arrived in India by 31 December 2014.[53]
In parallel to the drafting of an amendment to the 1955 Citizenship Act, the BJP government completed an effort to update the National Register of Citizens (NRC) in the state of Assam. The process for creating the NRC had been put in place by the Citizenship rules enacted in 2003, and had been implemented in Assam under Supreme Court supervision as a result of a 2014 Supreme Court ruling.[54] This was mandated under prior peace agreements in northeast, in particular the Assam Accord signed in the presence of the former Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi.[55][56] The updated register was made public in August 2019; approximately 1.9 million residents were not on the list, and were in danger of losing their citizenship.[57] Many of those affected were Bengali Hindus, who constitute a major voter base for the BJP.[58] They also include Bangladeshi Muslims who constitute a vote bank for Congress, CPI(M) and the Trinamool Congress.[59][c] On 19 November 2019, Home Minister Amit Shah, declared in the Rajya Sabha of the Indian parliament that the National Register of Citizens would be implemented throughout the country.[62]
Legislative history
The BJP government introduced a bill to amend the citizenship law in 2016, which would have made non-Muslim migrants from Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh eligible for Indian citizenship.[63][64] Although this bill was passed by the Lok Sabha, or lower house of Indian parliament, it stalled in the Rajya Sabha, following widespread political opposition and protests in northeast India that did not want any migrants from Bangladesh. Opponents of the bill in Assam and the northeastern states of India stated that any migration from Bangladesh "irrespective of religion" would cause "loss of political rights and culture of the indigenous people".[64][65]
The BJP reiterated its commitment to amend the citizenship act in its 2019 election campaign. It stated that religious minorities such as Hindus and Sikhs are persecuted in neighboring Muslim-majority countries, and promised to fast track a path to citizenship for non-Muslim refugees.[66][67] After the elections, the BJP government drafted a bill that addressed the concerns of its northeastern states. It excluded Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram, Nagaland, Tripura, Meghalaya and Manipur, except for non-tribal cities exempted under pre-existing regulations. It also excluded tribal areas of Assam.[68] The Indian government, while proposing an Amendment, said, that its bill aims to grant quicker access to citizenship to those who have fled religious persecution in neighbouring countries and have taken refuge in India.[14][69][3]
The Bill was introduced in Lok Sabha on 19 July 2016 as the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016. It was referred to the Joint Parliamentary Committee on 12 August 2016. The Committee submitted its report on 7 January 2019 to Parliament. The Bill was taken into consideration and passed by Lok Sabha on 8 January 2019. It was pending for consideration and passing by the Rajya Sabha. Consequent to dissolution of 16th Lok Sabha, this Bill has lapsed.[70]
After the formation of 17th Lok Sabha, the Union Cabinet cleared the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019, on 4 December 2019 for introduction in the parliament.[64][71] The Bill was introduced in 17th Lok Sabha by the Minister of Home Affairs Amit Shah on 9 December 2019 and was passed on 10 December 2019,[72] with 311 MPs voting in favour and 80 against the Bill.[73][74][75]
The bill was passed by the Rajya Sabha on 11 December 2019 with 125 votes in favour and 105 votes against it.[76][77] Those voted in favour included BJP allies such as Janata Dal (United), AIADMK, Biju Janata Dal, TDP and YSR Congress Party.[76][77]
After receiving assent from the President of India on 12 December 2019, the bill assumed the status of an act.[78] The act will come into force on a date chosen by the Government of India, and will be notified as such.[1] The implementation of the CAB began on 20 December 2019, when Union Minister Mansukh Mandaviya gave citizenship certificates to seven refugees from Pakistan.[79]
The Amendments
The Citizenship (Amendment) Act of 2019 amended the Citizenship Act, 1955, by inserting the following provisos in section 2, sub-section (1), after clause (b):[1]
Provided that persons belonging to minority communities, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, who have been exempted by the Central Government by or under clause (c) of sub-section (2) of section 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Act, 1920 or from the application of the provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946 or any order made thereunder, shall not be treated as illegal migrants for the purposes of that Act;[1]
A new section, 6B, was inserted, providing further that:
on and from the date of commencement of the [Act], any person referred to in the first proviso shall be eligible to apply for naturalisation and any proceeding pending against such person in respect of illegal migration or citizenship shall stand abated on conferment of citizenship to him.[1]
The "exempted" classes of persons were previously defined in the Foreigners (Amendment) Order, 2015, (issued under the Foreigners Act, 1946):[53]
3A. Exemption of certain class of foreigners. – (1) Persons belonging to minority communities in Bangladesh and Pakistan, namely, Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians who were compelled to seek shelter in India due to religious persecution or fear of religious persecution and entered into India on or before the 31st December, 2014
- (a) without valid documents including passport or other travel documents and who have been exempted under rule 4 from the provisions of rule 3 of the Passport (Entry into India) Rules, 1950 [...]; or
- (b) with valid documents including passport or other travel document and the validity of any of such documents has expired,
are hereby granted exemption from the application of provisions of the Foreigners Act, 1946, and the orders made thereunder in respect of their stay in India without such documents or after the expiry of those documents, as the case may be [...].[53]
The Rules were further amended in 2016 by adding Afghanistan to the list of countries.[80]
Analysis
The Bill amends the Citizenship Act of 1955 to give eligibility for Indian citizenship to illegal migrants who are Hindus, Sikhs, Buddhists, Jains, Parsis and Christians from Afghanistan, Bangladesh and Pakistan, and who entered India on or before 31 December 2014. The bill does not mention Muslims.[81][82] According to Intelligence Bureau records, the immediate beneficiaries of the Amended Act will be 31,313 people: 25,447 Hindus, 5,807 Sikhs, 55 Christians, 2 Buddhists and 2 Parsis.[10][83]
Under the Act, one of the requirements for citizenship by naturalisation is that the applicant must have resided in India during the last 12 months, and for 11 of the previous 14 years. The Bill relaxes this 11-year requirement to five years for persons belonging to the same six religions and three countries. The bill exempts the tribal areas of Assam, Meghalaya, and Tripura from its applicability. It also exempts the areas regulated through the Inner Line Permit, which include Arunachal Pradesh, Mizoram and Nagaland.[84][85][86] The inclusion of Manipur in Inner Line Permit was also announced on 9 December 2019.[68]
The Bill includes new provisions for cancellation of the registration of Overseas Citizenship of India (OCI) if there are any violations of the provisions of this Act or provisions of any other law of India. It also adds the opportunity for the OCI holder to be heard before the cancellation.[1][64]
Exclusion of Muslims
Muslims from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan are not offered citizenship under the new Act.[3][4][87] Critics have questioned the exclusion. The Amendment limits itself to the Muslim-majority neighbours of India and, secondly, takes no cognizance of the persecuted Muslims of those countries.[43] According to The Economist, if the Indian government was concerned about religious persecution, it should have included Ahmadiyyas – a Muslim sect who have been "viciously hounded in Pakistan as heretics", and the Hazaras – another Muslim sect who have been murdered by the Taliban in Afghanistan. They should be treated as minorities.[15]
The Indian government has stated that Pakistan, Afghanistan, and Bangladesh are Muslim-majority countries. They have modified their Constitutions in recent decades to declare Islam as their official state religion, and therefore Muslims in these Islamic countries are "unlikely to face religious persecution". The government states that Muslims cannot be "treated as persecuted minorities" in these Muslim-majority countries.[14][8] It is true, states BBC, that Pakistan and Afghanistan's state religion is Islam, and that Bangladesh's top court ruled in 2016 that "Islam should remain its state religion", but, all these countries also "have constitutional provisions stating that non-Muslims have rights and are free to practise their faith".[14]
According to Meenakshi Lekhi – a BJP parliamentarian and Supreme Court lawyer, the Ahmadiyyas are Muslims and the attacks on them in Pakistan are "sectarian, not religious" in nature. Prior to 1947, she says, the Ahmaddiyas chose to vote and go "en bloc with Pakistan, a nation created on the basis of religion" and many of the Pakistani Ahmaddiyas are a vocal critic of India. The new legislation can only accommodate religious persecution and not sectarian persecution. They, and members of any religion, can apply for citizenship in India using the other Articles of the 1955 law, states Lekhi.[88]
Exclusion of other persecuted communities
The Act does not include migrants from non-Muslim countries fleeing persecution to India. For example, the Act is silent about the Hindu refugees from Sri Lanka. The Sri Lankan Tamils were allowed to settle as refugees in Tamil Nadu in 1980s and 1990s due to systemic violence from the Sinhalese of Sri Lanka. They include 29,500 "hill country Tamils" (Malaiha).[40][89]
The Act does not provide relief to Tibetan Buddhist refugees.[12] They came to India in the 1950s and 1960s. Their status has been of refugees over the decades. According to a 1992 UNHCR report, the then Indian government stated that they remain refugees and do not have the right to acquire Indian nationality.[90]
The Act does not address Rohingya Muslim refugees from Myanmar. The Indian government has already been deporting Rohingya refugees back to Myanmar, despite the risk to their lives.[16][91]
Reception
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/0/0f/Locals_protest_against_CAB_CAA.jpg/220px-Locals_protest_against_CAB_CAA.jpg)
![](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/thumb/8/8a/Anti_CAA_NRC_protestors.jpg/220px-Anti_CAA_NRC_protestors.jpg)
Protests
The passage of the Act triggered different types of protests and criticisms. In the eastern regions of India, protesters were against the naturalization of any and all refugees or migrants. They stated that any law that offers "prospect of citizenship will further encourage migration from Bangladesh".[19] Decades of migration, these protesters said, had already caused a "loss of political rights and culture" as well as land rights of the native people. According to them, the new provisions of this Act are against prior agreements such as the Assam Accord.[19][20] In other parts of India, political and student activists protested that the law "marginalizes Muslims, is prejudicial against Muslims" and sought that Muslim migrants and refugees should also be granted Indian citizenship per its secular foundations.[21]
After the bill was cleared on 4 December 2019, violent protests erupted in Assam, particularly in Guwahati.[92] Demonstrations were also held in Agartala, the capital of the state of Tripura.[93] By 16 December, six people had been killed, and fifty people injured, in clashes between police and protesters.[94][95] Assamese women protesters said they "want peace, not Bangladeshi migrants" and the influx of refugees and migrants would harm their state, culture and communal harmony.[20]
Internet access was restricted in Assam state. Curfew was declared in Assam and Tripura due to the protests.[96] The army was called in to as protesters defied those curfews. Railway services were suspended and some airlines started offering rescheduling or cancellation fee waivers in those areas.[97] Officials reported that at least two people died after clashes with police in Guwahati, Assam.[98]
Protests against the bill were held in several metropolitan cities across India, including Kolkata,[99] Delhi,[100][101] Mumbai,[76] Bengaluru,[102] Hyderabad,[103] and Jaipur.[100] Smaller rallies were also held in the southern states of Kerala and Karnataka.[99]
In Muslim-dominated parts of Delhi – India's capital, violent protests erupted, with a spokesperson Chaudhary Mateen Ahmad stating that people are protesting because "it discriminates against the Muslims". The protesters demanded that the law should grant Indian citizenship to Muslim immigrants and refugees too.[22] On 15 December, police forcefully entered the campus of Jamia Millia Islamia university, where protests were being held, and detained the students. Police used batons and tear gas on the students. More than a hundred students were injured and an equal number were detained. The police action was widely criticized, and resulted in protests across the country.[104][105][106]
Indian government response
On 16 December, after the protests entered the fifth day, Prime Minister Narendra Modi appealed for calm in a series of tweets saying "No Indian has anything to worry regarding this act. This act is only for those who have faced years of persecution outside and have no other place to go except India".[95][107]
On 19 December, police banned protests in several parts of India with the imposition of section 144 which prohibits the gathering of more than 4 individuals in a public space as being unlawful, namely, parts of the capital Delhi, Uttar Pradesh, and Karnataka, including Bangalore. Police in Chennai denied permission for marches, rallies or any other demonstration.[108][109] Internet services were shutdown in several parts of Delhi. As a result of defining the ban, thousands of protesters were detained, including several opposition leaders and activists such as Ramachandra Guha, Sitaram Yechury, Yogendra Yadav, Umar Khalid, Sandeep Dikshit, Tehseen Poonawalla and D Raja.[110][111][112]
Rallies in support
Student groups such as those from the Akhil Bharatiya Vidyarthi Parishad – a student wing of the Hindu nationalist Rashtriya Swayamsevak Sangh, held rallies in support of the amended Citizenship Act.[113][114] Rallies in support of the Amendment Act were led by BJP leaders in West Bengal, who alleged that the state government blocked them. They also accused the Chief Minister Mamata Banerjee's party members of misinforming the state's residents about the new law.[115] Similarly, some 15,000 people joined a BJP-organized rally in support of the Act in Rajasthan.[116] On 20 December 2019, scores of people held demonstrations in Central Park, Connaught Place, New Delhi in support of the Act.[117][118] Hundreds on people gathered in Pune, forming a human chain, in support of CAA, on 22 December.[119][120]
Refugees
Hindu refugee families in Assam, living since the 1960s in a refugee camp and who had been denied Indian citizenship so far, said that the Amendment had "kindled hope" at first. They added that the recent protests against the Act and demands for its cancellation have made them fearful of the future.[121] In New Delhi, about 600 refugees from Pakistan living in a camp consisting of tiny shanties celebrated the new law.[122] A delegation of Sikh refugees who had arrived from Afghanistan three decades ago thanked the Indian government for amending the citizenship law. They stated the Amended law would allow them to finally gain Indian citizenship and "join the mainstream".[123]
Some Rohingya Muslim refugees in India were not optimistic about the Amendment and feared they would be deported.[124][125] Other Rohingya refugees expressed gratitude at having been allowed to stay in India, but did not make any comments specific to the Act lest they provoke a backlash. They said that local police had asked them not to protest against the Act.[126]
Cancellations
No play was possible on the fourth day of the cricket match between Assam and Services in the 2019–20 Ranji Trophy because of the protests.[127] The India-Japan summit in Guwahati, which was supposed to be attended by Shinzō Abe was also cancelled.[128][129]
The UK, USA, France, Israel and Canada issued travel warnings for people visiting India's north-east region, telling their citizens to "exercise caution".[99][130][131]
Political and legal challenge
Chief Ministers of Indian states of Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, West Bengal, Punjab, Kerala and Rajasthan and union territory of Puducherry – all led by non-BJP governments – said they will not implement the law.[132][133][99] The states of West Bengal and Kerala have also put a hold on all activities relating to the preparation and update of the National Population Register which is necessary for the Census as well as the implementation of the National Register of Citizens.[134] According to the Union Home Ministry, states lack the legal power to stop the implementation of CAA. The Ministry stated that "the new legislation has been enacted under the Union List of the 7th Schedule of the Constitution. The states have no power to reject it".[26] Modi stated on 21 December that the NRC had only been implemented in Assam to follow a directive from the Supreme Court of India, and that there had been no decision taken to implement it nation-wide.[135]
The Indian Union Muslim League petitioned the Supreme Court of India to declare the bill illegal.[136] The royal family of Tripura also filed a petition in the Supreme Court against the bill.[96] The first hearing by the Supreme Court of India on 60 petitions challenging the Act was on 18 December 2019. During the first hearing, the court declined to stay implementation of the Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. The court has set 22 January 2020 as the next date of hearing.[137]
Commentary and petitions
The foreign intelligence agency of India, R&AW, had expressed concern while deposing in front of the joint parliamentary committee, and had stated that the bill could be used by agents of the foreign intelligence agencies to infiltrate legally into India.[138] Harish Salve, former Solicitor General of India, said that the bill does not violate Article 14, Article 25 and Article 21 of the Constitution of India.[139] He points out that Article 15 and Article 21 apply only to the entities which reside in India, not to those which want to enter India. Salve says that the bill doesn't violate secularism and describes it as a 'narrowly-tailored' provision that is designed to address a specific issue.[140]
A petition opposing the bill was signed by more 1,000 Indian scientists and scholars.[141] The petition stated that "The use of religion as a criterion for citizenship in the proposed bill" was "inconsistent with the basic structure of the Constitution".[141] A similar number of Indian academicians and intellectuals released a statement in support of the legislation.[142] The petition stated that the act "fulfills the long-standing demand of providing refuge to persecuted religious minorities from Pakistan, Bangladesh and Afghanistan".[143]
The legislation has been criticised in India and abroad by commentators who claim that it violates the secular Constitution of India and its promise of equality under Article 14.[36][144] The bill was opposed by the Indian National Congress, who said it would create communal tensions and polarize India.[145] According to Nitin Gadkari, a minister in the Indian government, the act was necessary because "India was the only country in the world for Hindus".[146] The National Sikh Front – a group representing the Sikhs in Jammu and Kashmir, stated that it supports the Act because it will help the Sikh refugees in India who left Afghanistan.[147]
Commentators have expressed concerns that people who are unable to produce required documents to prove their citizenship and inclusion in the NRC will be accepted as migrants and given Indian citizenship under the Bill provided they are "of any identity except Muslim(s)"; the latter would risk becoming stateless because they are not included under the Bill.[57][148][149]
International reactions
United Nations: The Office of the United Nations High Commissioner for Human Rights (OHCHR) criticized the Act and called it "fundamentally discriminatory in nature". It added, "Although India’s broader naturalization laws remain in place, these amendments will have a discriminatory effect on people’s access to nationality."[150]
United States: The United States Commission on International Religious Freedom (USCIRF) called for sanctions[151] against Amit Shah and "other principal leadership" over passage of the Bill.[152] India's Ministry of External Affairs issued a statement in response, stating that the statement made by the USCIRF was "neither accurate nor warranted", and that neither the CAA nor the NRC sought to strip Indian citizens of citizenship.[153][154][155] The United States House Committee on Foreign Affairs questioned the intent of the Bill and noted that "[a]ny religious test for citizenship undermines this most basic democratic tenet."[156] On 19 December, however, the United States Secretary of State said that the US respects Indian democracy since it has a “robust” internal debate on the Citizenship Act.[157]
Russia: Deputy Russian Ambassador to India, Roman Babuskhin, said that Russia considers the legislation an internal matter of India.[158]
Pakistan: Pakistan Prime Minister Imran Khan criticized the Act.[159] Pakistan's National Assembly passed a resolution labeling the Act as a “discriminatory law” and argued that it contravened "bilateral agreements and understandings between India and Pakistan, particularly those on security and rights of minorities in the respective countries".[160]
Bangladesh: Bangladesh's Minister of Foreign Affairs, A. K. Abdul Momen said that Bill could weaken India's historic character as a secular nation and denied that minorities were facing religious persecution in his country.[161]
Malaysia: The Prime Minister of Malaysia, Mahathir Mohamad, criticized the law and said it could "deprive some Muslims of their citizenship." India rejected the criticism and said the law does not "deprive any Indian of any faith of her or his citizenship."[162]
See also
- The Foreigners Act, 1946
- Indian nationality law
- National Register of Citizens of India
- Illegal Migrants (Determination by Tribunal) Act, 1983
- Illegal immigration to India
- Refugees in India
- Assam Accord
- 1971 Bangladesh genocide
Notes
- ^ The Act defines "undivided India" as "India as defined in the Government of India Act, 1935, as originally enacted".[31]
- ^ Indian government statistics in 2014 show 289,394 "stateless persons" in India. The majority were from Bangladesh and Sri Lanka (about 100,000 each), followed by those from Tibet, Myanmar, Pakistan and Afghanistan.[43]
- ^ The excluded people of the Assam NRC were 0.5 million Bengali Hindus and 0.7 million Muslims, with the remainder made up of local people and Hindus from north India.[60][61]
References
- ^ a b c d e f "The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019" (PDF). The Gazette of India. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ a b "Parliament passes the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2019". pib.gov.in. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ a b c d Regan, Helen; Gupta, Swati; Khan, Omar. "India passes controversial citizenship bill that excludes Muslims". CNN. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
The government, ruled by the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata Party (BJP), said the bill seeks to protect religious minorities who fled persecution in their home countries.
- ^ a b c Gringlas, Sam. "India Passes Controversial Citizenship Bill That Would Exclude Muslims". NPR.org. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ Slater, Joanna (18 December 2019). "Why protests are erupting over India's new citizenship law". Washington Post.
- ^ a b Sharma (2019), p. 523: "First, citizenship status biased towards religious identity is by no means a new idea.... A careful study of the policies and laws related to citizenship, adopted since independence substantiate the assertion that citizenship in India has always been based on an implicit belief that India is for Hindus."
- ^ Sankalpit Bharat Sashakt Bharat, BJP Sankalp Patra Lock Sabha 2019 (Manifesto, 2019)
- ^ a b c Kaur Sandhu, Kamaljit; Singh, Mausami (9 December 2019). "Citizenship Amendment Bill has public endorsement, was part of manifesto: Amit Shah". India Today. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
The Citizenship Amendment Bill [...] was required to give protection to people who are forced to live in pathetic human condition while rejecting the argument that a Muslim may suffer religious persecution in Bangladesh, Pakistan and Afghanistan saying that a Muslim is unlikely to face religious persecution in an Islamic country
- ^ "The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019" (PDF). PRS India. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ a b Tripathi, Rahul (23 December 2019). "Citizenship Amendment Act 2019: What it holds for India". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ Spokesperson for the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, Jeremy Laurence, UNHCHR, Geneva (13 December 2019)
- ^ a b Chaudhry, Suparna (13 December 2019). "India's new law may leave millions of Muslims without citizenship". Washington Post. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ Gettleman, Jeffrey; Raj, Suhasini (11 December 2019). "Indian Parliament Passes Divisive Citizenship Bill, Moving It Closer to Law". New York Times. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ a b c d "Is India's claim about minorities true?". 12 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.; Quote: [The Indian government states:] "The constitutions of Pakistan, Afghanistan and Bangladesh provide for a specific state religion. As a result, many persons belonging to Hindu, Sikh, Buddhist, Jain, Parsi and Christian communities have faced persecution on grounds of religion in those countries."
- ^ a b "India's bill purporting to help refugees really seeks to hurt Muslims, India's bill purporting to help refugees really seeks to hurt Muslims". The Economist. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ a b "What Does India's New Citizenship Law Mean?". The New York Times. 13 December 2019. ISSN 0362-4331. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ "Is India's claim about minorities true?". 12 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ Samuel, Sigal (12 December 2019). "India just redefined its citizenship criteria to exclude Muslims". Vox. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ a b c Saha, Abhishek (20 January 2019). "Explained: Why Assam, Northeast are angry". The Indian Express. Archived from the original on 18 January 2019.
- ^ a b c Choudhury, Ratnadip (21 December 2019). ""Want Peace, Not Migrants": Thousands Of Women Protest Citizenship Act Across Assam". NDTV.com. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ a b Gollom, Mark (17 December 2019). "Why India's controversial citizenship law has sparked violent protests". CBC News. Retrieved 25 December 2019.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ a b Pokharel, Krishna (17 December 2019). "India Citizenship Protests Spread to Muslim Area of Capital". Wall Street Journal. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ Ellis-Petersen, Hannah (17 December 2019). "India protests: students condemn 'barbaric' police". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ Nath, Hemanta Kumar (12 November 2019). "1,000 detained as anti-Citizenship Amendment Bill protests intensify in Assam".
- ^ Dutta, Prabhash (19 December 2019). "Violent protests against Citizenship Amendment Act: Who will pay for damages?". India Today. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ a b "Sporadic protests in MP against CAA". outlookindia.com/. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- ^ Jaffrelot, Christophe (August 2019). "A De Facto Ethnic Democracy". In Chatterji, Angana P.; Hansen, Thomas Blom; Jaffrelot, Christophe (eds.). Majoritarian State: How Hindu Nationalism Is Changing India. Oxford University Press. pp. 41–67. ISBN 978-0-19-007817-1.
- ^ a b Thakur, Apurva (31 March 2018), "Why the Citizenship Amendment Bill Goes Against the Basic Tenets of the Constitution", EPW Engage, vol. 53, no. 13, pp. 7–8
- ^ Jain, Shruthi (19 December 2019). "Explained: The Nuts and Bolts of Indian Citizenship". The Wire. Retrieved 26 December 2019.
- ^ Roy 2010, pp. 33–34.
- ^ Universal's The Citizenship Act, 1955 (2004), p. 13, item 2(1)(h).
- ^ Roy 2010, pp. 37–38.
- ^ Universal's The Citizenship Act, 1955 (2004): See p. 15, clause 5 for "seven years"; see p. 27, "The Third Schedule" for "eleven years"
- ^ Roy 2010, p. 138.
- ^ Universal's The Citizenship Act, 2003 (2004), p. 2.
- ^ a b "Citizenship Amendment Bill: India's new 'anti-Muslim' law explained". BBC News. 11 December 2019. Archived from the original on 12 December 2019.
- ^ Sarker 2017, pp. 21–22.
- ^ US Department of State (1991). World Refugee Report. The Bureau for Refugee Programs, US Government. pp. 42–43.
- ^ a b Ahmad, Nafees (12 September 2017). "The Status of Refugees in India". Fair Observer. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ a b Suryanarayan, V.; Ramaseshan, Geeta (25 August 2016). "Citizenship without bias". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ "A question of fair play". The Statesman. 10 October 2016. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ India, UNHCR Global Appeal, 2011.
- ^ a b "Explained: What is Citizenship Amendment Act?". The Indian Express. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ Sarker 2017, pp. 55–67, 192–198.
- ^ Das, Pushpita (2016), Illegal Migration From Bangladesh: Deportation, Border Fences and Work Permits (PDF), Institute for Defence Studies and Analyses, pp. 26–27, ISBN 978-93-82169-69-7
- ^ Ranjan 2019, p. 4.
- ^ Gupta 2019, pp. 2–3.
- ^ Roy 2019, p. 28.
- ^ "BJP offer of 'natural home' for Hindu refugees triggers debate". Hindustan Times. 9 April 2014.
- ^ Why Pakistani Hindus leave their homes for India, BBC News, 28 October 2015.
- ^ Shreyasee Raj, Safe But Betrayed: Pakistani Hindu Refugees in India, The Diplomat, 22 January 2019.
- ^ Exemptions to minority community nationals from Bangladesh and Pakistan in regularization of their entry and stay in India, Ministry of Home Affairs, 7 September 2015.
- ^ a b c The Gazette of India, Issue 553 of 2015, 8 September 2015.
- ^ Roy 2019, p. 29.
- ^ Accord between AASU, AAGSP and the Central Government on the Foreign National Issue, Assam Accord, United Nations Archives (15 August 1985)
- ^ Cite error: The named reference
Gupta1
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ a b Cite error: The named reference
HTPackage
was invoked but never defined (see the help page). - ^ "Citizenship Amendment Bill: 'Anti-Muslim' law challenged in India court". BBC. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- ^ Gupta 2019, pp. 5–6.
- ^ ‘Five lakh Bengali Hindu NRC rejects will get citizenship, The Times of India, 11 December 2019.
- ^ Sanjoy Hazarika, Assam's Tangled Web of Citizenship and the Importance of a Consensus, The Hindu Centre for Politics and Public Policy, 18 October 2019.
- ^ "Amit Shah: NRC to apply nationwide, no person of any religion should worry". India Today. 20 November 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- ^ "Lok Sabha passes Citizenship Bill amid protests, seeks to give citizenship to non-Muslims from 3 countries". India Today. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- ^ a b c d "The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019. Highlights, Issues and Summary". PRS Legislative Research. 9 December 2019.
- ^ "Explained: Why Assam, Northeast are angry". Indian Express. 20 January 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
- ^ BJP manifesto 2019: Top 10 promises for next 5 years, India Today (April 18 2019), Quote: "We are committed to the enactment of the Citizenship Amendment Bill for the protection of individuals of religious minority communities from neighbouring countries escaping persecution. [...] We reiterate our commitment to protect the linguistic, cultural and social identity of the people of Northeast. Hindus, Jains, Buddhists and Sikhs escaping persecution from India’s neighbouring countries will be given citizenship in India."
- ^ India’s Government Considers a ‘Muslim Ban’, The Wall Street Journal, Sadanand Dhume (April 18 2019)
- ^ a b Jain, Bharti (10 December 2019). "Bringing ILP for Manipur, 3 NE states will be out of CAB". The Times of India. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ "India's new citizenship law outrages Muslims". The Economist. 12 December 2019. ISSN 0013-0613. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
When Amit Shah, India's home minister, proposed his bill in parliament on December 9th, he framed it as an act of mercy. Henceforth, he promised, people who have fled persecution in neighbouring countries and taken refuge in India would be granted quicker access to citizenship.
- ^ "Explained: Why the Citizenship Amendment Bill is dead, for now". Indian express. 13 February 2019. Retrieved 14 February 2019.
- ^ "Controversial Citizenship (Amendment) Bill to Be Tabled in Lok Sabha on Monday". The Wire. Retrieved 8 December 2019.
- ^ "Citizenship Bill gets Lok Sabha nod, Rajya Sabha test next". Hindustan Times. 9 December 2019. Archived from the original on 11 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ "Citizenship Bill has smooth sail in Lok Sabha, will Amit Shah clear Rajya Sabha test?". India Today. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "Citizenship (Amendment) Bill: Federal US commission seeks sanctions against home minister Amit Shah". The Times of India. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ Das, Shaswati (9 December 2019). "Amit Shah to table Citizenship Amendment Bill in Lok Sabha today". Livemint. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ a b c Nath, Damini; Singh, Vijaita (11 December 2019). "After a heated debate, Rajya Sabha clears Citizenship (Amendment) Bill". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ a b "CAB set to be law as RS passes it 125-105, indefinite curfew and Army in Guwahati". The Times of India. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ "Citizenship (Amendment) Bill gets President's assent, becomes act". Press Trust of India. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019 – via The Economic Times.
- ^ "Union Minister gives citizenship papers to Pak refugees". Outlook India. 21 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- ^ The Gazette of India, Issue 495 of 2016, 18 July 2016
- ^ Nair, Sobhana K. (23 November 2019). "NRC is anti-Indian citizen". The Hindu.
- ^ Nair, Sobhana K. (5 December 2019). "Opposition to reach out to people about 'pitfalls' of Citizenship Amendment Bill". The Hindu.
- ^ "Citizenship Act will benefit only 31,313, not lakhs". Deccan Herald. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ "The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2019 - Bill Summary". PRS Legislative Research. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ Saha, Abhishek (9 December 2019). "Explained: Where the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill does not apply". The Indian Express. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "What is the Citizenship (Amendment) Bill 2016?". India Today. Retrieved 26 January 2019.
- ^ "India's Parliament passes contentious citizenship bill excluding Muslims". The Japan Times Online. 12 December 2019. ISSN 0447-5763. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ Lekhi, Meenakshi (21 December 2019). "Citizenship Amendment Act is constitutionally unchallengeable". The Week. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ V. Suryanarayan; SAAG (16 November 2019). "Plea To Render Justice For Malaiha (Hill Country) Tamil Refugees From Sri Lanka – OpEd". Eurasia Review. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ Refugees, United Nations High Commissioner for. "Refworld | India: 1) Legal status of Tibetan refugees; 2) Rights of Tibetans to Indian nationality". Refworld. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ "India: Citizenship Bill Discriminates Against Muslims". Human Rights Watch. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ "Anti-CAB stir: People defy curfew, police open fire as Assam". The Economic Times. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ Bhattacharjee, Biswendu (11 December 2019). "Anti-CAB protests turn violent in Tripura". The Times of India. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ "Assam: Death toll rises to 5 in protests against citizenship act". The Times of India. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ^ a b "India PM plea for calm as citizenship unrest rages". BBC. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- ^ a b "'Anti-Muslim' citizenship law challenged in India court". BBC. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ "India calls in army as citizenship protests grow". BBC. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ "Two dead as Indian police clash with protesters". BBC. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ a b c d "India protesters block roads over citizenship law". BBC. 14 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ a b Kumar Nath, Hemanta Kumar; Mishra, Ashutosh (11 December 2019). "Shutdown in Northeast, furore across nation as Citizenship Amendment Bill set for Rajya Sabha test today". India Today. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ Ravi, Sidharth (11 December 2019). "Protests against CAB spill on to Delhi streets". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ "Bengaluru: Citizens protest against Citizenship Amendment Bill". Deccan Chronicle. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ Moin, Ather (11 December 2019). "CAB triggers protests in Hyderabad". Deccan Chronicle. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ "India citizenship law protests spread across campuses". Reuters. 16 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- ^ "Demonstration was not held in campus, locals too participated in it: Jamia Millia Islamia". The Times of India. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ^ "Anti-CAA protest not held in campus, says Jamia admin". India Today. 15 December 2019. Retrieved 15 December 2019.
- ^ Modi, Narendra (16 December 2019). "I want to unequivocally assure my fellow Indians that CAA does not affect any citizen of India of any religion. No Indian has anything to worry regarding this Act. This Act is only for those who have faced years of persecution outside and have no other place to go except India". @narendramodi. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- ^ "India police ban protests against citizenship law". 19 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ "Section 144 in The Code Of Criminal Procedure, 1973". indiankanoon.org. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ "Hundreds detained in India over citizenship protest". 19 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ "Anti-CAA Protests Live Updates: 19 Delhi Metro stations shut; scores detained in multiple cities". businesstoday.in. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ "CAA protest LIVE: 18 Delhi metro stations shut, protestors defy Section 144". business-standard.com. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ ABVP, BJP members take out pro-Citizenship Act march in Pune, Business Standard (December 19 2019)
- ^ BHU Students hold rally in support of CAA and NRC, United News of India (December 17 2019)
- ^ BJP takes out rallies in West Bengal in support of citizenship Law, The Times of India (December 17 2019)
- ^ BJP holds rally supporting CAA in Jaipur, Outlook India (20 December 2019)
- ^ "Demonstration in support of CAA". The Hindu. 21 December 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- ^ "Protest in Delhi Today: People gather at Delhi's Central Park, raise slogans in support of CAA". The Times of India. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
- ^ "Human chain in support of CAA, NRC formed in Pune even as protests against Act grow". Hindustan Times. 22 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Citizenship Act: Hundreds of people form pro-CAA human chain in Pune". Business Standard India. PTI. 22 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: others (link) - ^ "Swing between hope & despair". Telegraph India. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ Dutta, Taniya (14 December 2019). "Pakistani Hindu migrants celebrate Indian citizenship promise while Muslims protest". The National.
- ^ "Citizenship law will be implemented, so will be NRC: Nadda after meeting refugees from Afghanistan". India Today. 19 December 2019.
- ^ "As India eases citizenship path for Hindus, Rohingya Muslims fear expulsion". Reuters. 15 November 2018.
- ^ "Rohingya wary of future after CAA, don't want to return to Myanmar". The Hindu. 22 December 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ "Police Warn Rohingya Muslims To Stay Silent As CAA Protests Roil India". HuffPost India. 18 December 2019.
- ^ "Ranji Trophy 2019-20: Day four game in Assam suspended due to curfew over CAB". Sport Star. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ Bhattacherjee, Kallol (13 December 2019). "India-Japan Guwahati summit cancelled in view of protests". The Hindu. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "India protests spread over 'anti-Muslim' law". Saudi Gazette. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ "Travel Alert for U.S. Citizens: Protests in Northeastern States". U.S. Embassy & Consulates in India. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ "Anti-Citizenship Act protests: U.S., U.K., France, Israel issue travel advisories". The Hindu. 14 December 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 14 December 2019.
- ^ Varma, Anuja and Gyan (14 December 2019). "President gives assent to CAB, 5 states refuse to implement it". livemint.com. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- ^ Nath, Hemanta Kumar (20 December 2019). "Cong govts in Punjab, MP, Rajasthan, Chhattisgarh, Puducherry won't implement CAA: Harish Rawat". India Today. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- ^ "After West Bengal, Kerala too puts on hold NPR work". India Today. 20 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- ^ "PM Modi counters what Amit Shah, BJP manifesto say on bringing all-India NRC". India Today. 22 December 2019. Retrieved 23 December 2019.
- ^ "'Anti-Muslim' citizenship law challenged in India court". BBC. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ Bagriya, Ashok (18 December 2019). "Supreme Court refuses stay on Citizenship Amendment Act, issues notice to Centre". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 18 December 2019.
- ^ "CAB Could Be Misused By Foreign Agents to Infiltrate India, RAW Had Said". The Wire. 9 December 2019. Retrieved 16 December 2019.
- ^ "Harish Salve says CAB is pro-minorities, does not violate Article 14,15 or 21". The Free Press Journal. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 12 December 2019.
- ^ "Watch: Noted Lawyer Harish Salve Explains Rationale Behind CAB And Dispels Myths Being Perpetrated By Bill's Critics". Swarajya. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ a b "India will become unconstitutional ethnocracy: Over 1,000 scholars, scientists seek withdrawal of Citizenship Bill". India Today. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ "1,000 academics come out in support of CAA". The Times of India. 22 December 2019. Retrieved 22 December 2019.
{{cite web}}
: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ^ "Academics, intellects issue joint statement supporting CAA". Outlook India. 21 December 2019. Retrieved 21 December 2019.
- ^ "Nobel Winner Ramakrishnan Slams Amit Shah's Argument, Condemns CAB". The Quint. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ "What you should know about India's 'anti-Muslim' citizenship bill". Al Jazeera. 9 December 2019.
- ^ "Hindus have only India: Nitin Gadkari". Telegraph India. 19 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ "National Sikh Front backs Citizenship Act". Outlook India. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ "If Parliament passes the Citizenship Amendment Bill, India's constitutional structure, as we know it, will lose its soul". The Indian Express. 11 December 2019. Retrieved 11 December 2019.
- ^ "Opinion: The Rajya Sabha must play its envisaged role". LiveMint. 10 December 2019.
- ^ "New citizenship law in India 'fundamentally discriminatory': UN human rights office". UN News. news.un.org. 13 December 2019. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ "USCIRF Raises Serious Concerns and Eyes Sanctions Recommendations for Citizenship (Amendment) Bill in India, Which Passed Lower House Today". United States Commission on International Religious Freedom. 9 December 2019.
- ^ "Federal US commission seeks sanctions against Amit Shah if CAB passed in Parliament". India Today. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ "USCIRF statement on CAB 'neither accurate nor warranted': MEA". The Times of India. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "It has no locus standi: MEA on USCIRF's citizenship bill statement". The Economic Times. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ "US Commission Statement On Citizenship Bill Not "Accurate": Government". NDTV.com. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ Raj, Yashwant; H. Laskar, Rezaul (11 December 2019). "US panel for sanctions over Citizenship Amendment Bill, India says it is biased". Hindustan Times. Retrieved 17 December 2019.
- ^ "India has robust domestic debate, says Pompeo on citizenship law". The Hindu. 19 December 2019. ISSN 0971-751X. Retrieved 19 December 2019.
- ^ Chaudhury, Dipanjan Roy (23 December 2019). "India's Citizenship Amendment Act is a domestic matter: Russia". The Economic Times. Retrieved 24 December 2019.
- ^ "Imran Khan blasts Citizenship Amendment Bill, says it violates bilateral agreements". India Today. 10 December 2019. Retrieved 10 December 2019.
- ^ NA condemns India over controversial citizenship act, Dawn, 17 December 2019.
- ^ "Citizenship Amendment Bill could weaken India's secular character, says Bangladesh's Foreign Minister". National Herald. 12 December 2019. Retrieved 13 December 2019.
- ^ 'People dying': Malaysia's Mahathir slams India's citizenship law, Al Jazeera
Bibliography
- Universal's The Citizenship Act, 1955 (PDF), Universal Law Publishing Co., 2004 – via UNHCR
- Gupta, Kanchan (2019), Beyond the poll rhetoric of BJP's contentious Citizenship Amendment Bill, Observer Research Foundation
- Poddar, Mihika (2018), "The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016: international law on religion-based discrimination and naturalisation law", Indian Law Review, 2 (1): 108–118, doi:10.1080/24730580.2018.1512290
- Ranjan, Amit (2019), "National Register of Citizen Update: History and its impact", Asian Ethnicity: 1–17, doi:10.1080/14631369.2019.1629274
- Roy, Anupama (2010), Mapping Citizenship in India, OUP India, ISBN 978-0-19-908820-1
- Anupama, Roy (14 December 2019), "The Citizenship (Amendment) Bill, 2016 and the Aporia of Citizenship", Economic and Political Weekly, 54 (49)
- Roy, Haimanti (2013), Partitioned Lives: Migrants, Refugees, Citizens in India and Pakistan, 1947-65, OUP India, ISBN 978-0-19-808177-7
- Sarker, Shuvro Prosun (2017), Refugee Law in India: The Road from Ambiguity to Protection, Springer, ISBN 978-981-10-4807-4
- Sharma, Chetna (2019), "Citizenship Amendment Bill 2016: Continuities and contestations with special reference to politics in Assam, India", Asian Ethnicity, 20 (4): 522–540, doi:10.1080/14631369.2019.1601993
Further reading
External links
- The Citizenship (Amendment) Act, 2019. The Gazette of India. (2019)
- Report of Refugee Populations in India, Human Rights Law Network, November 2007.
- Passport (Entry into India) Amendment Rules, 2015 and Foreigners (Amendment) Order, 2015, The Gazette of India No. 553, 8 September 2015.
- Citizenship (Amendment) Bill as introduced in Lok Sabha, 2016, PRS Legislative Research, 2016.
- Report of the Joint Parliament Committee, Lok Sabha Secretariat, 2019 (via PRS Legislative Research).
- Citizenship (Amendment) Bill as introduced in Lok Sabha, 2019, via PRS Legislative Research, 2019.
- Citizenship (Amendment) Bill as passed by the Lok Sabha, 2019, via PRS Legislative Research, 2019.